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Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains

Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Details
Price: $29.95 per bottle

Description: The Santa Cruz Mountains terroir has again yielded a somewhat wild, very fruity wine with hints of vanilla, plum, strawberry and clove. The tannins and acid balance on this wine give a wonderful mouth feel, even at this first release. Its very Burgundian nature makes it an ideal companion to rich foods such as smoked duck, sausages and stilton cheese. This wine was aged with 60% new oak.

Varietal Definition
Pinot Noir:
The name is derived from the French words for ‘pine’ and ‘black’ alluding to the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine cone shaped bunches of fruit. Pinot Noir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler regions, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. It is widely considered to produce some of the finest wines in the world, but is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine. By volume most Pinot Noir in America is grown in California with Oregon coming in second. Other regions are Washington State and New York.During 2004 and the beginning of 2005, Pinot Noir became considerably more popular amongst consumers in the United States, possibly because of the movie Sideways. Being lighter in style, it has benefited from a trend toward more restrained, less alcoholic wines. It is the delicate, subtle, complex and elegant nature of this wine that encourages growers and winemakers to cultivate this difficult grape. Robert Parker has described Pinot Noir: "When it's great, Pinot Noir produces the most complex, hedonistic, and remarkably thrilling red wine in the world."


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